Photos / Sounds
What
Mushrooms, Bracket Fungi, Puffballs, and Allies (Class Agaricomycetes)Observer
katiecarmelitahuntDescription
BIO115_017
Growing on soil near bushes, close to a sidewalk leading to an auditorium adjacent to a bike path. Found during the winter season in a period of heavy rainfall.
Spores ejected through a 1.5-2 cm wide sac with a fringed pore. The sac is sitting on a leathery yellow support shaped like an bilaterally (but not radially) symmetric 8-point star. The dark brown spore print was attained by gently squeezing spores out of the sac.
Keyed to Geastrum Mammosum in Mushrooms Demystified.
Photos / Sounds
What
Oak-loving Elfin Saddle (Helvella dryophila)Observer
katiecarmelitahuntDescription
BIO115_009
Growing on soil under oak. They were growing next to a sidewalk but not particularly close to a building. The area is sunny in the morning and well-shaded in the afternoons and evenings. Growing during winter in a period of heavy rainfall.
The stalk is a ghostly white-buff-grey color. It is ribbed with deep folds and occasional holes through the folds. The cap is black, globular, and wrinkled. There is at least one small hole in the caps, but no spore print was attainable.
Photos / Sounds
What
Suborder AgaricineaeObserver
katiecarmelitahuntDescription
BIO115_013
Growing on a retention basin along a sidewalk leading to a dining hall. The mushrooms were growing out of a clump of dead grass, and bits of the dead grass stuck firmly to the end of the stipe when the mushrooms were pulled out. They were found during the winter in a period of heavy rainfall.
Mushrooms are 9-12 cm tall upon maturity. Wnen young, caps are umbonate, but upon maturity they become uplifted. The caps are a sandy yellow and have a dry wax papery feel. Gills are dark grey-brown with white edges, and a dark brown spore print.
Photos / Sounds
What
Mica Cap (Coprinellus micaceus)Observer
katiecarmelitahuntDescription
BIO115_001
Growing on soil under a Magnolia tree. The proximity of the mushrooms to the tree indicates they may have been parasitizing it. The season is winter and the rainfall is heavy. The area is well-shaded by the tree and the surrounding dorm building. The tree and mushrooms are growing in a large planter.
Older specimens turn translucent brown and fall apart easily, their final stage being a sticky or dried black goop on the ground. Specimens release black inky material if they are picked. The gills are free and brown, with a black spore print. The cap is brown in the middle, grading to white and then gray at the ends. The stalk is around 0.5cm thick and white. The mushrooms are 7-10mm high.
Photos / Sounds
What
Golden Milkcap (Lactarius alnicola)Observer
katiecarmelitahuntDescription
BIO115_005
Growing on soil under bushes. The season is winter with heavy rainfall. The bushes are near a dorm building. The area is well-shaded.
Most of the mushrooms are a bold buff-yellow with stalk and gills a more buff color than the caps. The stalks are typically 2cm wide and 3-4cm tall, but can we wider and shorter. The caps are mostly 7-9 cm tall and broadly funnel shaped, but can also be 4cm tall and depressed and planoconvex. White spore print only showing up in patches. The fruiting body is brittle but not delicate, and emits a scant white latex that stains yellow. The mushroom has a characteristic spicy taste.
